Method and system for previewing search results

ABSTRACT

A method for providing a search sample without a search being triggered is disclosed. The method includes receiving at least one partial search term in a search box. Probable search terms are determined by comparing the at least one partial search term to a database of common search terms. The probable search terms are displayed in a format that include a link to a sample search of each probable search term and a backslide button. When the link to a sample search of a probable search term is selected in the probable search terms, the sample search is displayed in a format that includes a close link. When the close link is selected in the sample search, the probable search terms are displayed again. When the backslide button is selected, the right most word from the search term is deleted.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/185,648, filed Jun. 17, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,108,740, which isa Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/098,770, filedDec. 6, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,384,279, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/734,681 filed Dec. 7, 2012.The disclosures of all applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to previewing search results. Morespecifically, the present disclosure relates to methods and systems ofpreviewing search results from an autocomplete list without and/or priorto executing a full search on the search terms.

BACKGROUND

The many, if not all, modern search engines provide no method to cancelthe auto-completion of a search. Once the user has clicked on anauto-complete search option, a full search is returned on theauto-completed search term. If another search is required, the user mustexecute the search again. Further, as modern computer devices getsmaller, applications require more efficient uses of screen real estate.Also, with additional restrictions placed on mobile internet, efficientuse of available bandwidth becomes an important concern.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0159923, titled “PreviewingWeb Pages Associated with Search Results,” describes methods and systemsfor previewing search results determined in response to search queriesinput into a browser toolbar search box. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,869,titled “Combined Web Browsing and Searching,” describes methods andsystems for displaying a web page and search results based on auser-entered query term in the same window concurrently. However,conventional solutions do not offer any improvements in bandwidthefficiency.

SUMMARY

A method and system is disclosed that allows a user to quickly changethe search results entered into a user interface input field withoutrequiring a new search or requiring that the complete search fullyloads. A “preview” button is placed next to each of the auto-completesuggested search terms in the user interface. Selection of this buttonfor a suggested search term causes a computing device to display thefirst few of highest rated search results for that search term. If theseresults do not appear to be what the user is looking for, selection ofthe “Close” button causes the device to re-display the auto-completeresults. Additionally, it also provides a button on the search resultspage which will allow the user to start a new search at the point inwhich they selected an auto-complete result.

A system for providing a preview search of a probable search term priorto executing a full search that includes a server and a user computingdevice. The server includes an electronic circuit and is configured toreceive at least one partial search term entered in the search box at auser computing device, determine a plurality of probable search terms bycomparing the at least one partial search term to a database of commonsearch terms, and transmit the plurality of probable search terms to theuser computing device.

The user computing device includes an electronic circuit and isconfigured to display the search box and receive input of at least onepartial search term in the search box, transmit the at least one partialsearch term to the server, receive the plurality of probable searchterms, display the plurality of probable search terms received from theserver in a format that include a preview link associated with eachprobable search term that executes a preview search of the associatedprobable search term, and display a preview search of a selectedprobable search term in a format that includes a run search link,wherein the preview includes links to a plurality of web contentassociated with the selected probable search term, and wherein selectingone of the links causes a corresponding item of web content to beloaded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawingfigures, in which like numerals represent like items throughout thefigures, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a typical search box with probable search terms.

FIG. 2 shows probable search terms with a search preview option.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a search sample box of a selectedauto-complete search term.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a search box with a backslide function.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example process for generating a list ofprobable search terms.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process for previewing searchresults from a list of probable search terms.

FIG. 7 is a chart showing an example message flow between a user and asearch system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a conventional search box 102 along with example autocomplete options 104. As shown in FIG. 1, “new jersey” has been enteredinto the search box 102. A user may select the search button 108 or oneof the auto complete options 104 to have the corresponding search beperformed. With conventional search boxes, such as search box 102 ofFIG. 1, once a search has been performed there is no way to return tothe probable search terms, such probable search terms 104 shown inFIG. 1. For example, if the user were to click the back button in theirbrowser, they would be presented with an empty search box. Therefore, aneed exists to provide a preview of the search that would be returned ifthe user were to select one of the probable search terms.

To conserve bandwidth and screen space, a method and system is disclosedto allow a user to preview search results for particular probable searchterms. Advantageously, a preview can be viewed and discarded withoutrequiring a new full search or navigation through the search results.This conserves bandwidth and provides for efficient searching inbandwidth constrained environments.

An example search box 202 that utilizes an auto-complete result previewfeature is shown in FIG. 2. In addition to search box 202, a list ofprobable search terms 204 is provided. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, nextto each of the probable search terms 204 is a preview button 210.Similar to a conventional auto-complete feature, such as that shown inFIG. 1, a list of popular searches is shown to the user. Clicking on anyof the auto-complete results, for example result 206, will generate asearch result page for that query. For example, selecting “new jerseylottery” will generate a full search result for those search terms.However, if the preview button 210 next to an auto-complete option isselected, a preview search or sample search is displayed which includesthe top search results for the search terms, as described in more detailbelow in reference to FIG. 3. In an example scenario, as shown in FIG.2, “new jersey natural gas” auto-complete option 206 is selected. Inthis example, selecting the auto-complete option for “new jersey naturalgas” will return a search result for that search term. Selecting thepreview for the “new jersey natural gas” auto-complete option generatesa preview or sampler of the search result.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a search box 302 displays a sample searchpreview 304 of a search term from the list of probable search terms 204shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the search term in this example is“new jersey natural gas” autocomplete option 206, as selected in theexample described above in reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, however, asample search preview 304 is shown for the terms “new jersey naturalgas.” In this example, the top results for the search term “new jerseynatural gas” are shown in sample search preview 304. If the user selectsthe run search button 310, a full search for “new jersey natural gas”(i.e., the previewed search term) is executed and the search resultspage is displayed. In contrast, if the search button 308 is selected, afull search is run for “new jersey” (i.e., the search terms actuallyentered by the user into search box 302). If, however, one of thepreview results is selected, e.g. the preview result 306 for New JerseyNatural Gas as selected in FIG. 3, the web page corresponding to thatpreview result is displayed in the browser window. If the close button314 is selected the probable search terms are redisplayed as shown inFIG. 2.

Once a user has requested a full search and has been taken to theresults page, he or she may decide that the search they requested wasnot the best search after all. A second aspect of the search sample isthe “backslide” button 312, 406 found on the search sample and thesearch results page, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A-4B. When this button isclicked, the contents of the search box at the top of the page arereturned to a previous state.

An example scenario is illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4B. In this scenario, theresults page is shown in FIG. 4A. For simplicity and clarity, the actualresults are omitted and only the search box 402 is shown. If the userselected an auto-complete result, the contents are returned to how theyappeared before the user selected an auto-complete option. For example,if the full search for “new jersey natural gas” auto-complete option 206is selected in the example given above in reference to FIG. 2, the fullsearch results for “new jersey natural gas” would be displayed.Selecting backslide 406 will return the search box 402 to “new jersey”showing the probable search terms 408, as shown in FIG. 4B.Alternatively, the full results for “new jersey natural gas” may also begenerated by selecting the run search button 310 on a search sample,such as that shown in FIG. 3. Selecting backslide 406 in thiscircumstance will again return the search box 402 to “new jersey”showing the search preview options 408.

In another scenario and referring again to FIG. 3, selecting backslide312 would display autocomplete results like that in FIG. 4B, but for thepartial search terms “New Jersey Natural.”

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow chart depicting process 500 is shown. Instep 502, a user begins entering search terms. In step 504, the systemreceives a partial search term request from the user/client. In step506, the system compares partial search terms against a data base ofcommon search terms to compute the top most probable search terms. Forauto-complete functionality, the system determines, in step 508, whetherany results were found in the database. If no results were found (508:No), then the system prepares a statement that no search terms werefound, in step 510. In step 514, the statement is returned to the user.Alternatively, if results are found (508: Yes), then the systemprepares, in step 512, a list of probable search terms that include alink to the search page of each search term as well as a link to asample search of each search term. In an embodiment, e.g. FIG. 2, thelink to the sample search is provided through a “preview” buttonembedded in the auto-complete results. In step 514, the list is returnedto the user.

As noted above, the list may contain a link to a sample search for eachreturned search term. In an example, if a user would like to see asample of a search that would be returned upon selection of that searchterm, the user may select the preview or search sample. Referring now toFIG. 6, a user selects a preview search 602. The system retrieves thetop results for the search term for which the sample is requested 604.The system determines, in step 606, whether any results are found forthe sample search. If not (606: No), the system prepares a statementthat no search results are found, similar to that in step 608. One ofordinary skill will note that this would be unlikely since anauto-complete search term was used for the search sample input, however,it is possible that no results will be returned. Alternatively, ifresults are found (606: Yes), the system prepares a list of the bestsearch results in step 610 and returns the results to the user 612.

The user may select a run search link 614, a backslide link 618, or aclose link 622. If the user selects the run search link (614: Yes), asearch is executed based on the selected probable search term for whichthe preview search is displayed 616. In the example shown in FIG. 3, thefull search would be run on “new jersey natural gas.” If the userselects the backslide link (618: Yes), the rightmost term of theselected probable search term is removed and a new list ofautocompletes, for the previously selected probable search terms withthe rightmost term removed, is provided 620. If the user selects theclose link (622: Yes), the probable search terms from the previous listare redisplayed 624.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a diagram is provided that illustrates anexemplary interaction between the user and the search sampler system. Asshown in the diagram, when the user types a search, the search terms aretransmitted from the user to the system in or near real-time 702. One ofordinary skill will note that the transmission may be to a remote system(e.g. a web-server) or may be to a local process on the same machine asthe user (e.g. an application running on the user's computer). Theembodiments are not limited in this regard. After the search terms aretransmitted, the system compares the search terms to a database ofpopular search terms. The probable search terms are then presented tothe user 704. A number of options are available to the user at thispoint. For example, a user may select a probable search term for a fullsearch or search sample of a probable search term. In embodiments, asearch sample of a probable search term is selected and the appropriaterequest is transmitted to the system 706. The system compiles a sampleof the best results of a search for the selected search term and returnsthose best results to the user 708. The user may now select one of theresults in the search sample, thereby opening the result directly. Theuser may also cancel the search sample and return to the auto-completeresults. The user may also request a full search based on the selectedsearch term. The user selects one of the available options and theappropriate request is transmitted to the system 710. The systemgenerates a page based on the user selection and displays the page 712.

The methods described above advantageously provide substantial bandwidthsavings over conventional searching systems. Table 1 summarizesexperimental results comparing the bandwidth utilization of a typicalsearch using the sample search methods described above, the full searchmethods, and searching method of conventional search tools.

TABLE 1 Preview search bandwith usage compared to full search methods.Data Transfer Percentage Compared (KB) to Preview Preview Search 6.01100.0000% Full Search 35.98 16.7037% Bing 60.12 9.9967% Google (withJavaScript) 326.73 1.8394% Google (without JavaScript) 101.17 5.9405%

The methods described in this document may, for example, be implementedon a mobile electronic device such as a mobile telephone or smartphone.However, one of ordinary skill in the will recognize that the methodsdescribed herein may be implemented on any electronic device thatcontains electronic circuitry, such one or more processors, computerreadable memory and/or media, receiver and transmitter circuitry, one ormore antennae, and the like. This disclosure is not limited to theparticular systems, devices and methods described, as these may vary.The terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describingthe particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended tolimit the scope.

As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skillin the art. Nothing in this disclosure is to be construed as anadmission that the embodiments described in this disclosure are notentitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. Asused in this document, the term “comprising” means “including, but notlimited to.”

The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended,encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements,equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments andteachings disclosed herein, including those that are presentlyunforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise fromapplicants/patentees and others.

1-3. (canceled)
 4. A method for displaying a sample search withoutexecuting a full search, the method comprising: receiving, at a clientdevice, a user input captured by a human interface device associatedwith the client device, wherein the user input includes at least onesearch term, wherein the search term is at least one of a partial searchterm, a complete search term, a plurality of search terms, or acombination thereof; generating a first message by the client device andtransmitting the first message to a server, wherein the first messagecontains the user input, and wherein the first message causes the serverto determine a plurality of probable search terms by comparing the atleast one search term to a database of common search terms; receiving,at the client device, a second message from the server, wherein thesecond message contains the plurality of probable search terms, andwherein the second message causes the client device to display, on adisplay associated with the client device, the plurality of probablesearch terms in a selectable format that includes a preview link orbutton associated with each probable search term, wherein the previewlink or button enables a user to select a selected probable search termof the plurality of probable search terms and that enables the user toselect a sample search based on the selected probable search termwithout running a full search on the selected probable search term,wherein the sample search comprises at least one search result of asearch using the selected probable search term, and wherein the fullsearch comprises a plurality of results using the selected probablesearch term; generating a third message by the client device andtransmitting, by the client device, the third message to the server,wherein the third message contains a request for a sample search of theselected probable search term, wherein the third message is sent by theclient device as a result of a user selection of the preview link orbutton associated with one of the plurality of probable search termsthat is the selected probable search term, wherein the third messagecauses the server to retrieve the sample search based on the selectedprobable search term receiving, by the client device, a fourth messagefrom the server, wherein the fourth message contains the sample searchof the selected probable search term, wherein each search resultcomprises information relating to at least one web page related to theselected probable search term; displaying, on the display associatedwith the client device, the sample search in a selectable format thatenables the user to select a search result in the sample search based onthe selected probable search term; receiving a user selection of asample search result in the sample search based on the selected probablesearch term; generating a fifth message by the client device andtransmitting by the client device, the fifth message to the server,wherein the fifth message contains a request for a web pagecorresponding to the sample search result; and displaying the web pageon the display associated with the client device, bypassing the fullsearch of the selected probable search term.